What Is a Live Event Calligrapher and Why Do You Want One?
As in-person events are slowly coming back this holiday season, everyone is looking to make memories and connect personally with those they love. The past year + has been intense for everyone, and through it many are being brought back to their values.
According to the Etsy 2021 Holiday Trend Guide (applicable not just to Etsy sellers, but also local shops and small businesses), it’s predicted that people will focus their holiday shopping efforts on supporting small businesses to purchase meaningful, personalized gifts. One great way to do this as a local shop is to bring in a live event calligrapher (like me!) during a holiday launch or sale and personalize some products live on the spot! Bringing in a live event calligrapher is a fun way to get people in the door and attract them with a novelty, VIP service.
What even is live event calligraphy?
The term “live event calligraphy” is common in my industry, but you’ll also see several other terms used to describe the same thing. These include “live calligraphy,” “on-site calligraphy,” “event calligraphy” or some combination of any or all three. The point is, this calligraphy happens live during a store/business event while on-site at the store/business.
Live event calligraphy is a way for jewelry shops, specialty boutiques, high-end salons, luxury department stores, and the like to bring in traffic during a holiday launch, promotion, or sale. It gives your clients a VIP experience that they will remember your shop by and will tell others about. It shows them how much you care and gives them a little something extra during a busy time of year. I talk more about creating an event like this in this post.
So, how does this work? Typically, the shop will predetermine what product(s) may be personalized, usually relating to their launch. (I have some ideas and examples later in this post!) The calligrapher is set up at a table inside the store, where upon purchase the customer will bring the item to them to be written on in calligraphy on-the-spot. Customers are welcome to watch or continue their shopping as they wait for an item to be personalized.
What can a live event calligrapher write on?
It’s always a great idea to link what product gets personalized with what you are promoting or launching during the event. This doesn’t mean it has to be that particular item, but it should be related. For example, if you are promoting a particular piece of jewelry, then perhaps a special card or even a wine bottle or perfume bottle would be promoted for personalization so that your customers can pair them together for a meaningful gift.
Some of the most common products that do get personalized are greeting cards (or other paper items), leather bags or wallets, ornaments, wine bottles, and perfume bottles. If a product is made of leather, paper, glass, acrylic, or any other smooth surface, it can likely be written on! If you have an idea, just ask and we can see if it would work!
It’s also good to understand what types of calligraphy writing are available. Really, it will be up to the calligrapher to determine what tools they will use depending on the surface, but here are a few of the different methods for reference: pointed pen, foiling, engraving, brush pen.
Interested in learning more?
If you are interested in bringing a live on-site calligrapher to your holiday event, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m happy to answer any questions you may have and discuss logistical concerns and would love to see how we can partner together this holiday season. Reach out with the button below to get in touch!
